Hi. For me to help you, just think of your problem and answer each question in turn. First, are you seeing the words "No Signal" or "Technical fault" on the TV screen?
Click if no Click if yesStart again
Wednesday, 1 December 2021
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Colin8:29 PM
Hi
For some reason over the last 2 weeks, the EPG on one of my TVs (Panasonic) has been esxtremely slow to load, often missing entries on channels. My TV EPG (LG) upstairs shows the EPG perfectly fine, this would suggest to me that it is something wrong with the individual TV. I have cleared out the channel list and have done a full rescan to no avail.
I am loathed to do a factory reset on the TV at the moment, as it seems like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
Would anyone know why the EPG has suddenly developed a slow load?
Regards
Colin
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Chris.SE10:04 PM
Colin:
Not the first time that I've heard of Panasonic EPG issues, but it was some considerable time ago.
A few questions, is the Now & Next ok, just later programmes (maybe days) are being slow?
It could be a transmitter related problem, do you know which transmitter you get signals from?
How old is the TV? Is it connected to the internet (ie.smart?) and if so, has it had a firmware update around 2 weeks ago?
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Thursday, 2 December 2021
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Colin11:34 AM
Hi Chris
It's an older 1080 Plasma screen, which I still think delivers a better picture than a 4K LED screen using a 1080 input source :-) .. I think it's the TX-P42G20. It's not smart and whilst I can connect via ethernet, I rarely do. I'm not aware of any background system upgrade to the unit, certainly none that I have invoked.... and other than the EPG issue, I'm not seeing any other issue with it. I did try disconnecting the aerial, rescan (which obviously fails), reconnect the aerial.. and rescan again... still the same issue.
It's all the EGP, but when they do (very slowly) populate, I usually get the now & next, but anything beyound the next hour doesn't show.
I get served by Winter Hill, as I am in Worsley, M28 - I don't usually have any issues... and I did check the status for Winter Hill and no reported issues... and my LG (and a Blaupunkt) are not showing the same problem, albeit the smaller LG has always annoyed me by randomly freezing momentarilly on the EPG and suddenly every channel goes to "No Information" until I start paging back/forth through the EPG, but, I live with that.
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Friday, 3 December 2021
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Chris.SE12:30 AM
Colin:
Most of the Panasonic EPG issues I've come across have been with older equipment, though mainly STBs rather than TVs, and they've often been caused by a change in EPG data format (sometimes wrongly!) but they've usually been solved by a firmware update. It might be worth checking whether you have the latest firmware - but I wouldn't rush to update without checking other things first.
(They aren't the only brand to have had such issues at some time or other).
I have come across one case where weak signal was causing EPG issues with your model. Might be worth checking two aspects to this.
1) That you are correctly tuned to all Winter Hill's UHF channels - in your location you shouldn't have any problems but you can also get good signals for the PSBs in particular from Moel-y-Parc which you might pick up of the back of your aerial.
Winter Hill main multiplexes are C32, C34, C35, C29, C31, C37, C55 for PSBs1-3, COMs 4-7.
The Local ones are Local Manchester, Manchester GI on C24 & C27.
Liverpool Local mux on C21, Preston Local mux on C40.
Local muxes are beamed towards the areas they are serving, so which you can get will depend on whether you are anywhere in or very close to such a beam.
2) If you re correctly tuned but any signal strengths are down or quality is down/ BER up, then it'd be worth giving your aerial system a check out. Check all coax connections, distribution amp/splitter if you have one is powered and working (a good check there is to temporarily connect the aerial direct to the main TV feed and see what the signal strengths are).
Finally, there could have been a change in the EPG which may be "faulty", so it's worth "hanging on" if all else checks out ok before considering a firmware update if there is one. Sometimes a good idea to see if you can also get a copy of your current firmware which you might be able to reload from a USB stick if you don't like the latest version for some reason. But check out Panasonic's information on what any update is supposed to do and the various methods of updating or reverting to an older version.
I'll see if I can find out if there's any "new" EPG issues. There's one poster here who is usually very good at spotting those (and they get signal from Winter Hill!). I'll only post back on that aspect if I get a response.
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Colin7:07 AM
Cheers Chris
I don't post to many forums, in fact, seldom..... but, I have to say that your answer should be the model template across all forums.
I must admit that I don't fully understand some of what you say, my knowledge around multiplexes is vague at best, so I need to do a little more digging of my own around that aspect but, that doesn't detract away from the information, the depth of answer along with well explained/reasoned suggestions that you have provided.
First class anwser and very much appreciated. No worries on any further updates, as beyond what you have mentioned, I suspect there is very little I can do apart from upgrading all of my TV backbone equipment, as I inherited it all when I bought the house, some 12+ years ago, so it's probably time for an overhaul.
But, again, much appreciated - I'll definitely be printing that advice off! :-)
Kind Regards
Colin
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Chris.SE7:55 AM
Colin:
Hi. OK a little more information about multiplexes (groups of channels) for you.
In the list I gave in the previous post, C simply means UHF channel, so C32 is UHF channel 32. If you hover over it when it's typed like that on this site it gives the frequency in MHz which is handy for some equipment that tunes by frequency instead of UHF channel.
The main multiplexes are identified by two lots of names (just to confuse everyone!). As follows -
PSB1/BBCA, PSB2/D3&4, PSB3/BBCB HD, COM4/SDN, COM5/ArqA, COM6/ArqB. Then there's COM7 & Local.
Also see https://www.freeview.co.uk/corporate/platform-management/channel-listings for which channels are carried on which multiplex.
If your aerial installation is over 12 years old, it's worth a thorough check out. If you have lots of TV outlets, there's some sort of splitter somewhere, possibly the loft, and it will often have an amplifier in it. By using a coax plug coupler you should be able to unplug the aerial input and the main TV feed from the amp/splitter and plug the two together so the aerial goes direct to the main TV. If there's an increase in signal (look in your TV tuning section before and after) this suggests the amp/splitter is malfunctioning.
If you are unsure, post the before and after figures for each multiplex (UHF channel) both teh strength and the quality or BER figures.
The other possibility is your aerial and it's downlead may have deteriorated. Check the downlead looks undamaged and isn't flapping in the wind. Check the cable at the amp/splitter end and check it isn't wet and corroded which indicates water is getting into the aerial connections or cable. If the aerial is in the loft, it shouldn't suffer that problem.
The aerial may be an older C/D group aerial which was the old range of UHF channels used by Winter Hill before the final 700MHz Clearance retune which happened in 2020 (the last significant changes were August 12th). Quite a few such aerials will work quite adequately in strong signal areas, but if these lower UHF channels ie C32, C34, C35 are very weak you may need a new aerial which should be a Group T/Wideband.
Do post back if you have more queries or anything you'd like explaining in more detail.
Example of a coax plug coupler https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-2-pack-tvfm-coax-coupler/p/0342510
They are available at a lot of DIY or Hardware outlets as well as TV shops etc.
IF your amp/splitter has "F-connectors" you need a different coupler, an example is -
https://www.cablesdirect.co.uk/images/gold-flashed-f-type-connector-coupler-p2892-9057_image.jpg
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Colin7:52 PM
Cheers Chris - I can't fault your replies! :-)
I've printed both of your replies and will properly digest that information - I'm sure you've provided a great starting point and saved me days of research there, so many thanks again for time/effort and feedback, it's been very much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Colin
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Colin7:54 PM
Cheers Chris - I can't fault your replies! :-)
I've printed both of your replies and will properly digest that information - I'm sure you've provided a great starting point and saved me days of research there, so many thanks again for time/effort and feedback, it's been very much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Colin
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Chris.SE9:54 PM
Colin:
No problem Colin, don't forget, ask away if you need any further explanations or help.
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